The greatest part of the knowledge in the fi eld of Soil Science in Brazil is published in major scientifi c journals, thereby validating adequate agronomic practice in teaching, research and extension. The present work aimed to accomplish a thematic analysis of topics addressed by four major Brazilian agronomic periodicals dealing with Soil Science, during the period of 1987 to 2007. For that purpose, a quantitative analysis of the studied material was undertaken, considering 3245 articles divided in eleven thematic areas. The scientifi c articles published in Soil Science focus on the areas of Soil Fertility and plant nutrition. It is necessary to increase the number of studies in the basic area, focusing on topics such as Soil Genesis, Morphology and Pedology and also the Teaching Soil Science.